


Wasteland Blues

by Nova9219



Category: Fallout (Video Games), Fallout 4
Genre: Canon-Typical Violence, F/M, Flashbacks, Slow Burn, Two Protagonists, switching POV
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-08-08
Updated: 2018-08-09
Packaged: 2019-06-23 16:03:28
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 3
Words: 5,385
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/15609915
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Nova9219/pseuds/Nova9219
Summary: He is an engineer, widow, and extremely pissed off father centuries out of his time. She is a witty, hot-headed, yet kindhearted journalist from Diamond City. They had no idea that their paths would cross, but when they did they changed forever





	1. It's the End of the World

**Author's Note:**

> I've written multiple first chapters on this site before. I'm hoping that this one won't join the rest of my "forever incomplete" works. I struck the inspiration for this earlier this morning and I immediately planned out the characters and wrote out the first chapters. I'm currently really excited to write this series and see where it goes.

October 22, 2077

Marcus Conway was nervously sitting in the reception area of the regional headquarters of General Atomics International. He ran his hand across the top of his head in order to adjust his hair; a nervous tick that Nora and his friends always teased him about. Looking around the room he saw the other rows of immaculately clean benches which seated four other people waiting for various appointments. He was there for a job interview, for the position of "Head of R&D, Greater Boston Branch". The job would be a great opportunity for him to further his career. A career that he was forced to put on hold when he was conscripted into the armed forces for three years developing advanced forms of weapons and power armor. He was shocked when he got the notice; he had no idea that they had begun conscripting college graduates, let alone one from CIT. Nevertheless, he had finally returned home from service a week ago and he was now hoping to get a job developing top of the line robots and appliances.

"Mister Conway," prompted the secretary standing in front of him; pulling him away from his thoughts.

"Yes?"

"It's time for your interview," she answered with a smile that looked all too rehearsed, "good luck."

He slowly stood up from his chair and took a deep breath, then he followed the secretary to partake in an interview that could bring some more normalcy to his life.

\---

Marcus blocked the blinding sunlight from his hand, not seeing it in over 200 years made his eyes ever so slightly unadjusted to its invasive rays. He heard his Pip-Boy make a beeping sound, but he completely ignored it. He simply sat down on the ground where he was and placed his head in his knees.

"Oh god," he thought, "did that really just happen?" When he was exiting the vault he hadn't truly grasped the events that unfolded. Instead he completely focused on getting out of that strange hell that cost him his family. But now, now he could only think about what happened. His mind immediately went to Nora, surely she couldn't be gone, not after everything they went through together. They had been together since college and she had been the one person that stood by him through everything. He thought about when he first met her and how he was so nervous that he could barely formulate  sentence. It turned out that he overcame his nervousness and they had fallen in love with each other, it didn't matter in the end; because she ended up being ripped away from him anyways. She was shot in the head trying to stop that bald mercenary and what Marucs assumed were scientists from taking Shaun. For a moment Marcus wondered why he wasn't the one to carry Shaun into the vault? He had carried him around hundreds of times before, and if he had just done it that one more time then she would still be alive, and he would be the one with a bullet in his head. Then he suddenly remembered Shaun. Whoever had shot Nora had also stolen his son from him. With that thought he shaking got toa his feet and looked around. If there was one thing he could do now, just one thing to keep him going, it would be finding Shaun and raising him, just like he was meant to do before all of this crazy shit went down.

He looked down at his Pip-Boy and he immediately checked to see if it was broken. The little date on the bottom corner read _October 23, 2287_. That date couldn't be right. That would make him 234 years old. He thought back to the vault and a realization suddenly dawned on him. It was the reason that the vault was full of bleached skeletons and why it looked like it hadn't been cleaned in decades. It was because those capsules that he and Nora entered were actually cryogenic chambers. He had been suspended in time for 210 years. The realpeople's question was how long Shaun was suspended, and how long he hadn't been.

He looked down to take inventory of what he had: a 10mm pistol, 40 10mm rounds, a security baton, his Pip-Boy 9000, a _Red Menace_ holotape game he found in one of the computers, and his wedding rings. He quickly reloaded his 10mm pistol before heading down the path leading to Sanctuary Hills. There had to be people there who could help him. People who could help him out before he continued onwards to find Shaun.

He walked slowly down the trail that was now lined with long abandoned trash heads and the bleached skeletons of his old neighbors. As he was about to cross the bridge when he saw two skeletons laying next to a now empty suitcase. He remembered seeing those two right before he got to the vault. They never made it, instead wiped away by nuclear fire. Marcus wondered for a moment whether or not they had gotten a better fate than himself, or the other residents of the vault, but he eventually decided that it wasn't worth thinking about right now. As he stepped out onto the cracked asphalt that was once the road to his house he looked from side to side. On the right he saw the once pristine and futuristic homes ripped apart and riddled with holes, a rusted shell that was once a car, and a tree that had completely collapsed into the road, blocking the way by vehicle. To his left he saw perhaps the last thing he was expecting to see: Codsworth, his old robotic butler, was hovering in front of their old home humming to himself as he attempted to trim the bushes that clearly hadn't grown in over two hundred years. He no longer had a shining exterior, and his once perfect spherical shape now had a few dents, but he could still recognize him all the same.

"Codsworth?" Marcus nearly gasped to at his old companion.

"As I live and breath! It's... it's really you!" Codsworth shouted with his characteristic British accent.

"Codsworth, I... I can't believe you're still here. After all this time, you still stuck around?" Marcus asked, still shocked that Codsworth was still functioning, let alone that he had stayed at the house.

"Well, did you think a little bit of radiation could deter the pride of General Atomics International?" Codsworth asked, still advertising his creators centuries after they were reduced to ash. "But you seem to be the worse for wear sir, you better not let the missus see you like this. Where is the missus by the way?"

At the mere mention of Nora, Marcus felt his eyes start to water, but he managed to bite back years for nowa.

"Oh, I'm so sorry sir, I hope I didn't say anything to upset you," Codsworth pleaded with genuine concern.

"It's... it's okay Codsworth, it's not your fault. Nora, she... well she didn't make it out of the vault," Marcus had to force the words out and afterwards they still stung in his mouth.

"and what of young Shaun? I hope the boy is okay," Codsworth asked.

"Shaun was... kidnapped. By the same people that killed Nora. Codsworth, she was trying to protect Shaun and he just... he just... I have to find him and rescue Shaun, Codsworth, I have to," he said to the robot.

"Of course sir, and I will assist you in finding young Shaun, but first I think you must rest. I will prepare a meal and bedding at once. I also have something that mum had prepared for you before everything went down. I think she would want me to give it to you now." A small panel on Codsworth's torso slid open to reveal a small holotape that he offered to Marcus. He tenderly took the holotape from Codsworth's arm. He slid the tape into his Pip-Boy as he stepped into his old home.

 

 _Oopsie. Ha ha ha. No, no, no. Little fingers away._ Marcus let out a small chuckle as he heard Nora talking to Shaun.

 

 _There we go. Just say it. Right there. Right there. Go ahead. *baby giggles* Ha ha!_ Marcus stifled a tear at the sound of her voice and Shaun’s silly little laugh.

 

 _Yay! Hi honey! Listen, I don't think Shaun and I need to tell you how great of a father you are... but we're going to anyway. You are kind, and loving, *Shaun laughs*... and funny! Ha ha. That's right. And patient. So patient. Patience of a saint, my mom used to say._ He listened to the holotape, savoring every second of hearing her voice that he knew he would never hear again.

 _Look, with Shaun, and us all being at home together... It's been an amazing year. But even so, I know our best days are yet to come. There will be changes, sure. Things we'll need to adjust to. You'll rejoin the civilian workforce, I'll shake the dust off my law degree..._ He lost it at this, hearing her planning for the future, not knowing what was coming, it broke his heart again. Suddenly tears started streaming down his face, warm and salty, burning across his cheeks.

 _But everything we do, no matter how hard... we do it for our family._ He closed his fist, knowing what he had to do next.

 

 _Now say goodbye, Shaun... Bye bye? Say bye bye? *baby giggles* "_ No", he thought, it couldn’t end here, this couldn’t be the last new thing he ever heard her say.

 

 _Bye honey! We love you!_ He heard the “click” indicating that the tape was over and he collapsed onto the floor, uncontrollably sobbing as he thought about Nora and Shaun. Then, after a moment, he reached back to his Pip-Boy and clicked the large button that would replay the tape.


	2. City Life

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So, I'm going to preface this chapter by stating explaining the style by which I am planning on writing this fan fiction. I am going to be alternating between the viewpoints of Piper and Marcus in the story on what I hope is going to be a chapter by chapter basis. If it doesn't work well, or I feel a single protagonist works better, I may switch to a more traditional writing style.

Piper

\----------

Piper heard the regular beeping of her alarm clock as she wondered if she could sleep in longer. She had stayed up late the night before working on an article that she knew had promise. After spending days trying to get a source to confirm what was only known as the "Broken Mask Incident", she was finally able to find Eustace Hawthorne. She was a kind enough elderly woman from the upper stands. She had agreed to an exclusive interview for the Publick Occurrences about the incident. Thinking about how she still needed to edit the article drove Piper to pull the blanket off of her and step out of bed. She pulled out a pair of clean pants from the dresser next to her bed and pulled them on, remembering that she had to drop off her clothes for laundry at Fallon's Basement. She stepped downstairs to get some breakfast and talk with Nat before she had to head off to school. Recently Piper had noticed that Nat was becoming worryingly more like her: hot-headed, stepping on other people's toes, and somehow managing to always anger the wrong people. As she stepped down the creaky stairs into the living room she saw Nat was laying on the couch, already dressed, and reading a copy of Grognak the Barbarian: Jungle of the Bat Babies. Piper smiled before heading over to greet Nat.

"Hey, kiddo, you're up earlier than usual," Piper said to her younger sister before plopping herself down on the couch cushion next to her.

"Yah, I started reading last night before you made me go to bed, and I wanted to finish it before school," Nat replied, barely peeling her eyes away from the comic book that she was reading.

"Okay, just make sure you're not late for school, I don't like having to talk to Mister Zwicky about why you're missing classes," Piper reminded her younger sister. It had only happened once in the past, but Piper wanted to get on top of the problem before it became a serious issue.

Nat gave a slight nod that Piper realized was the best she was going to get from her younger sister right now. Piper stood up and looked through the filing cabinet she used as a cupboard for food. Inside she found a bottle of Nuka Cola and a can of Potato Crisps, "breakfast of champions" she thought to herself before grabbing them both and heading up to her terminal. She sat down in her chair and used the hem of her shirt to crack the bottle cap off of her soft drink. She took a long gulp out of the bottle before setting it down. She wondered for a moment how the soda had stayed carbonated for so long, but thought it would be a question better saved for a different time. Right now, she had work to do. She turned to her computer terminal and started reading over the article that she had outlined the night before. She looked through and noticed a few mistakes that she had made while she was tired the night before. She also noticed a few parts of the story that could use some rewording in order to keep the reader's attention. After around an hour of editing she decided that this would be good enough. She printed out a single copy that she left on top of the printing press so that Nat would know it was ready for circulation. She knew that this article would stir up a lot of controversy, (and it would probably result in her getting locked in the aptly named "Piper Suite" again) but she was fairly certain her hunch about Mayor McDonough was right. Besides, it's not like she directly called him a synth in the article, she just heavily implied it. 

Piper decided that it was time to take a break and pulled her signature red leather jacket and green scarf from the top of her dresser. Once she was dressed she grabbed her notebook and pens from the desk, taking special care to place the pens in the loops she designed for them on her wrist. She walked down the stairs again and cracked open her door to the Diamond City Market. She heard the usual chatter: the barber was shouting to anyone passing by that they should get a haircut, the sound of Travis stuttering in the background indicated someone was playing the radio, and the incoming traders added that extra bit of chatter that contributed to the character of Diamond City. She reached into her coat pocket and pulled out the slightly crumpled pack of cigarettes she had shoved in there. She also drew her lighter from her other pocket and lit one of the cigarettes before taking a long drag. She couldn't remember the first time she started smoking, but now it was something permanently ingrained into her schedule. She started making her way over to Nick's detective agency. Nick had recently taken an interesting case involving a missing girl and a gang of triggermen. She took the usual path to his house without issue and she headed up to his door, passing the horrible signs outside, and heading in through the front door. 

As she stepped into the office she saw Ellie, Nick's assistant, was standing over one of the filing cabinets, rearranging the folders. Ellie was around her height and wore her brunette hair in the same way that pre-war women in magazines always would. She was also wearing the same pink skirt and sleeveless leather jacket that she seemed to be wearing every time Piper came over to the office. Piper wasn't quite sure about how Nick and Ellie met. But Piper did see how Nick looked after her, almost like a father would to his own daughter.

"Hey Ellie, how's everything been going?" Piper asked knowing she had to start with small talk if she wanted to get any further details on the case.

"Oh hey Piper, things have been going well, Nick actually just left on a case," Ellie responded, trying not to give too many details away.

"Soo... what's the case about?" Piper asked.

"You know I can't tell you that, you can ask Nick when he gets back," 

Shoot, Piper thought, the detective was always a lot harder to pry information out of. He seemed to have a way of knowing people's motives and had could always tell when Piper was working on a story.

"Sure, when he gets back tell him I wanted to talk to him," Piper told Ellie before slipping out of the same metal door that she came in.

With the direct approach having failed she decided that she would track down a few leads outside of the city. She knew that Nick's case involved the triggermen, and she had a contact inside of Goodneighbor that might know more about it. She walked through the market and into her office; making sure to grab her traveling bag before heading for the front gate. She walked passed Danny Sullivan straight out into the open air of the Commonwealth. Then she decided to set off down her usual side streets to avoid getting shot by raiders or mauled to death by super mutants.


	3. Tin Man Vs. Godzilla

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I've spent a couple days procrastinating writing the end of this chapter. I finally forced myself to write this chapter and get it out. I hope it turned out alright.

Marcus

\----------

It had been over a week since Marcus had first ventured out of the vault. He had spent most of that time clearing out Sanctuary and gathering supplies that he might be able to use when he headed out. He was excited to find that during his hibernation someone had filled his neighbor's house with a variety of workbenches, ranging from one designed for basic weapons to another designed for power armor. Sadly it seemed whoever put these here took their power armor with them.

_Of course I couldn't have found a set of power armor, that would just ruin the fun of being trapped in an irradiated hell._

Even though he didn't have the power armor he wanted he was able to modify his pistol. During the war he had been assigned to weapons development and maintenance. He had spent three years taking apart and improving guns before the bombs went off. Luckily it seemed that he hadn't lost his touch over time. He gathered piles of random crap he found around the neighborhood and disassembled various items, looking for the parts and materials he needed. After a good bit of work he was able to expand the clip size and stopping power of his pistol. He was also able to attach a stun pack to the security baton he found in the vault. That being said, the name was slightly misleading. He made sure to remove the normal safeguards so that the baton would do far more than stun any opponent he came across.

He started packing up his bag before he headed out. He took some pre-war food he had found in a bunker nearby, his modified pistol, his stun baton, his copy of Grognak the Barbarian (that inexplicably stayed in perfect condition despite being left out in the open for two hundred years), his trusty screwdriver, a frag grenade, some bobby pins, and a roll of duct tape. He slung his bag over his shoulder and headed to talk to Codsworth.

"Hey Codsworth, I think it's time for me to head out for a while," 

"Are you sure, sir? It would be far safer for you to stay here,"

"I'm sure Codsworth. I have to look for Shaun,"

"That's understandable sir, may I recommend you start your search down in Concord?"

"Sure, are there any people there?"

"Yes, and I believe they only pummeled me with sticks a few times before I had to run back home,"

"Then they must have a good judge of character," Marcus said to Codsworth with a slight smirk.

"I suppose that's one way of putting it. Please do be safe sir, and please return once you've found young Shaun,"

"Of course Codsworth,"

With that Marcus turned away and started walking across the Old North Bridge. It dawned on him that the bridge had to be over 500 years old at that point. It surprised him that it was still standing, even if it was slightly... worse for wear. The once pristine bridge now had a large hole in it that opened right into the shallow river below. He walked past the river and up towards the old Red Rocket down the road.

_I wonder if I can still order some breakfast here like I used to._

He chuckled at his own joke and kept walking until he heard the barking of a dog.

"Woof! Woof!" the barking seemed to be coming from a clean looking German Shepard that was sitting on the ground watching him go by. As he kept going it suddenly stood up and started walking towards him.

"Oh shi..." the dog in front of him suddenly turned its head slightly to the side before letting out a small whimper, "Hhm, you're not that bad, are you boy?"

Marcus scratched the dog's ear before he continued walking down the road. As he looked back he noticed that the dog was starting to follow him.

_If he wants to join me, I guess I wouldn't be opposed. It would be nice to have someone walking my back._

The dog jogged up to his side and nuzzled his head against his hip. Marcus smiled and patted the dog's head again as he started walking down the hill. He froze as he noticed the dead cow in the road ahead of him. It looked like its stomach was ripped open and two giant looking mosquitoes were feasting on it's blood.

_If there was one damn insect that I didn't want to see the size of a dog it was a fucking mosquito._

Marcus slipped his pistol from his holster and aimed at the first bug. He steadied his arms and drew in a long breath. He looked down the iron sights of his pistol and fired right into the mosquito. It exploded spraying blood everywhere (much in the same way that mosquitoes would do before it you squished them. The other bug was immediately drawn from it's meal and turned towards its assailant. It slew straight towards Marcus with its proboscis before it was intercepted by the dog that Marcus met earlier. He watched as his canine companion leaped into the air and bit straight into its neck. The dog's mouth was drenched with blood, but neither of them had received a bite. Marcus shuttered at the thought of the size of the welts he would get from one of the bugs he just faced.

\---

Marcus and his dog walked into Concord and could already hear the sound of gunfire raging on the other side of town.

_Shit, is this the type of activity that passes for recreation nowadays?_

Marcus clicked the safety off of his pistol and peered his head into the main street where the sounds were coming from. He saw around five people in ridiculous makeshift armor attacking the old Museum of Freedom. There was a man in a duster with some sort of laser musket standing on the balcony, firing back at the attackers. Marcus saw one raider was crouching by themselves and started creeping towards them. He was about five feet away when he heard a  _crunch_ from underneath his foot.

_Shit, who leaves broken grass lying around?_

The raider in front of him spun around and began to raise his pipe pistol. Marcus ducked slightly and attempted to tackle the man. The results were... mixed. He managed to knock the man to the ground and get the gun out of his hands, but there was now a far stronger man punching him in the face. Marcus spun backwards at the first punch, feeling blood coming from his mouth. The man spun around and leaned over him ready to punch again, but his attack was cut short when Marcus's dog charged forward straight into the man's neck. Marcus watched as a chunk of his neck was completely ripped out, spraying him with blood. Marcus clambered to his feet and picked up the pistol he had dropped in the confusion. He immediately steadied his pistol and fired at the other two raiders that were currently distracted. He took aim and fired his first shot. It ripped into the first raiders leg and caused her to collapse onto the ground. Another shot to the head dealt with her completely. The other raider turned to Marcus and shot back. Marcus was able to dive behind a car before the bullets hit him. Then he heard growling and the raider shouting. The dog had managed to grab hold of his shooting arm, allowing for Marcus to take a shot. He fired his pistol and it went straight through the bottom of his head. He immediately dropped to the ground with a violent gurgle. 

"Hey up here, on the balcony," Marcus looked up and saw the duster and cowboy hat clad combatant. "I've got a group of settlers inside, the raiders are almost through the door! Grab the laser musket and help us, please!"

_So that's what he was firing, a laser musket. Why would you design a gun after a 500 year old musket._

Marcus picked up the laser musket and clicked the fusion cells into their chamber. He turned the crank twice and saw the interior chamber glow red.

_That looks like those old crystal balls you could buy at party shops._

He pushed open the door and started running through the building. He ran through the hallway on his right and heard screams about "No taxation without representation" as he passed. The hallway opened up into a much larger room with a grand staircase and a security wall leading to a generation. He knew that the generator would contain a fusion core that he could probably use for a dozen different things. He jogged over to the generator looked at the lock on the security door. He could probably break it. He put in his bobby pin and screwdriver, turning them to various degrees until he heard the  _click_ indicating he could open the door. He pulled the heavy door open and walked over to the generator. He grabbed onto the fusion core, turning it slightly and then pulling it from its socket. He heard the whole generator power down and noticed the lights of the building shutting off. He cleared his way to the room with the settlers and knocked on the door. 

"Hey its me, the raiders are all dead,"

The door swung open and on the other side he got a closer look on the man he saw earlier. He saw it was a black male, around his height, short dark hair under his hat, and a pair of brown eyes. 

"Man, you are a lifesaver, I was just about to get over run,"

"What's your name?"

"Preston Garvey, of the Commonwealth Minutemen,"

_Minutemen? Is this guy just fucking with me at this point?_

"I hate to break it to you, but I don't think the Minutemen have been around for a couple of centuries,"

"You're not from around these parts, are you?" 

_You have no idea._

"It's just been a little while,"

"Look, that doesn't matter right now. What does matter is that the this building is going to be filled with raiders any minute now,"

"So what's the plan,"

"Well, there's a crashed vertibird on the roof containing some pre-war t-45 power armor. I'm Sturges by the way," Sturges was around Marcus's height, had hair identical to a pompadour wig, and wore a typical engineer's outfit.

"Luckily, I picked up a fusion core earlier that can power it,"

"Wonderful, you're already a step ahead. The thing is, that vertibird has more than power armor, it also has a minigun built into it. Normally it would take a while to detach, but with power armor you could rip it straight out of the plane,"

"I'd better get going then,"

Marcus walked across the room to the door that presumably lead to the roof, stopping to grab a Vault-Tec bobble head that was sitting on one of the tables.

_I used to love playing with these things._

He turned the knob on the door and pushed it out. He stepped into the hallway and headed for the stairs directly in front of him. He climbed each step before reaching a pale blue metal door leading to the roof. He turned the knob and pushed the door open with some effort. Then, standing in front of him he saw a complete set of power armor.

_I guess I didn't have to wait long for my wish to come true._

He stepped forward and inserted the fusion core into a port on the back of the power armor. He then turned the valve on the back and it opened for him to enter.

_I only put these together, I never actually wore won before. I really hope this suit doesn't crush me, that doesn't sound like the best way to go._

He took a deep breath and then hopped into the suit of power armor. He felt and heard the suit close behind him. The suit's operating matrix quickly appeared, ensuring that the fusion core was working. He stepped forward, feeling the gears of the suit move in synchronization with his movements. He saw the minigun ahead of him and went to grab it. He wrapped his glove around the handle and the barrel of the gun. He pulled, hearing the wine of his suit before the minigun ripped off of its restraints. 

_Here we go, now I have some serious fire power._

He ran forward and leaped off of the side of the building. He had seen the suit in testing and hoped there wasn't an issue with the impact calibrators. Luckily, there wasn't. He landed on the ground and stood there for a moment as the raiders stared back at him, in awe and fear. Then they opened fire. He heard bullets hitting the ground around him and felt one bounce off of his helmet. He held down the trigger on his minigun and filled the three raiders in front of him with bullets. The fourth raider dropped his gun and put his hands up. Marcus ran forward and pushed him to the ground. He raised his foot above the raider's head.

"Please man, just let me go,"

Marcus slammed his foot into the ground inches from the man's head, spraying his cheek with degree.

"Get the hell out of here... and get a better line of work,"

"You got it man, no problem with that, whatsoever,"

Marcus began marching forward with his minigun at the ready. He saw the raider scramble to his feet and run away. He fired a handful of bullets at the raider on the balcony, causing them to fall to the ground. He cleaned up the last few raiders when he felt the ground shake underneath him. At first he thought his power armor was broken, but then he heard a roar and spun around. A deathclaw was clawing its way out of the sewer system and was about to make its move.

_Shit shit shit, why did it have to be a deathclaw?_

Marcus remembered reading about them before the war, but he was fairly certain they weren't supposed to be that big. Marcus sprinted to the nearby car and ripped off the hood. He threw it to the side and pulled out the frag grenade from earlier. He watched the deathclaw come out of its hole before he stomped his foot on the ground, getting its attention. He then pulled the pin on the grenade, dropped it into the car, and ran at full speed.  He leaped into a nearby alleyway and heard his desired effect. There was a loud explosion and he could see the fire poor across the street.

He stepped back out into the street and saw a partially melted car shell next to the charred remains of the deathclaw.

_They better have some damn good information on how to find Shaun, or they're going to owe me a very large favor._

 

**Author's Note:**

> Hope you enjoyed :)


End file.
